


Mild Turbulences

by ready_to_kick_some_ass



Series: FitzSimmons AUs [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fear of Flying, First Meetings, planes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 17:03:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15845583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ready_to_kick_some_ass/pseuds/ready_to_kick_some_ass
Summary: Fitz flys to the US to attend the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Science and Technology. It's his first flight ever. He gets anxious and starts to talk to the girl sitting next to him. Or: Fitzsimmons meet on a plane.





	Mild Turbulences

**Author's Note:**

> I have fear of flying too.  
> Two years ago I flew for the first time and I still can't believe I did that!  
> Fortunately, I didn't experience turbulences and I had my fiance with me, who could soothe me.  
> But, gosh, it was so scary. The thought how high we were ... I still tremble when I think of it.  
> I don't know if I ever want to fly again ...  
> But let me tell you: this audiobook, I'm talking about in the fic, really helped! Because the woman told about everything that I could hear or experience, so I knew what was happening :)

Fitz takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.  
His heart flutters nervously, as he feels an uncomfortable strain against his belt and hears an alarming rumbling somewhere.

 _This was a bad idea_ , he tells himself, feeling his breath quickening against his will. _A very, very bad idea._

 

He’s flying for the first time in his life.

And there’s a thunderstorm.

 

Fitz already wishes himself back.  
Back to Scotland, where everything is familiar, and nothing is life threatening.  
Back into his quite ordinary life and to his harmless dreams.  
Back to his mother.  
  
His mother …  
He still feels guilty that he left her, although she told him multiple times to go and even pressed the phone into his hand so that he can finally accept Shield’s offer.

 _Why did I leave_? He asks himself desperately, grabbing his own knee so hard it hurts, when there’s another rumble going through the plane.

At the same time, a part of him is rigorously telling him that this was the right choice.  
If he ever wants to be _more_ , he has to make this certain step.  
Even if it leads him into a small, fragile looking plane, which could crash into thousand pieces.

 _It’s so unlikely_ , Fitz tells himself dryly. _It won’t happen, idiot._

He read a lot about planes and how they function over the last weeks, trying to prepare himself for this.  
He even bought an audiobook, where the soft, calm voice of a woman tells what the different sounds that a plane is making, mean and what he might experience while flying.    
And he really thought he’s ready.

But as soon as he was about to enter the plane, his legs started to tremble, and he felt sick.  
He almost stumbled backwards, but he was stuck in the line.  
There was no going back.

The start wasn’t that bad, actually.  
Not as bad as he had expected it to be.  
Since it was night, he couldn’t see anything, for which he was grateful. Because seeing the world getting smaller and smaller, actually realizing how high they would get, would have sent him right into a panic attack, he thought.  

For a while, they were just floating through the dark and it was scary, but bearable.  
  
Then the storm has started.

The first flashes from outside made Fitz flinch and a few people made frightened noises.  
But an announcement from the cockpit calmed them down, saying there might be mild turbulences but there’s no actual danger.

Now, the plane wobbles from time to time, and it feels like something is pressing Fitz into his seat.  
He clenches his hands into tight fists and wishes it would be over already.

This is horrible.  
He’s trapped in this plane. He can’t go anywhere. He can’t do anything. He just can sit here, hoping nothing will happen.  
It’s hell.

And he wants _out_.  

 _It’s like a bus or train drive, honey_ , his mother had told him.

The voice on his audiobook told him almost the same.

Well.  
He never was in a bus, wishing he would be able to be somewhere else, while running catastrophic scenarios in his head, one worse than the other, all ending with his death.

He really doesn’t want to be dead just now.

The plane wobbles again.

A few people laugh nervously, a stewardess tumbles through the hallway, a tight smile on her face.

Fitz bites his lip so hard, that he tastes blood.  
A wave of nausea seizes him, and he starts to feel dizzy, because he’s breathing way to hectically.  
He feels like he might pass out.  
That makes him panic even more.

 _This is ridiculous_ , he tells himself. _You want to build a bloody spaceship sometime in the future. Pull yourself together. Remember what the audiobook said about turbulences. You’re safe. Nothing will happen. Nothing …_

“Are you alright?”

He flinches.  
The girl sitting beside him is looking at him in mild concern.

Until now, big headphones had covered her ears and she seemed to be asleep, her face turned away from Fitz.

He looks at her, seeing hazel eyes and pale skin, covered in freckles. Nutbrown hair falls over her shoulders smoothly. She raises her hand, wiping a lost strand of it out of her face.  
She’s attractive. Very.

Fitz swallows, feeling the perspiration trickling down his back.  
“I’m just, um, nervous. This is my first flight."

“Oh.” She nods understandingly, smiling at him encouragingly. “But you don’t need to worry at all, trust me. Those are mild turbulences. They can’t damage the plane.”

“I know,” Fitz says, trying to force a smile on his face. But he’s quite sure it’s more a grimace. “I read about it. But … I still can’t stop thinking about how high we are and that there’s no way to get away. It’s like I’m trapped. I don’t like to have no control at all over what’s happening around me,” he blurts out.  
Startled, he looks aside. His face burns and he's sure he's blushing.  
Damnit. He really didn’t want to say that much.  
But somehow, he had the urge to express his thoughts, because they feel like they are suffocating him.  

“I know the first flight can be scary,” the girl tells him. “Mine was too. And this one is so long, isn’t it? I can’t wait for it to be over. Would it help you, if we talk?”

Fitz thinks about it.  
He doesn’t consider himself a good talker.  
Quite the contrary.  
He was always a bit shy. A loner in school. A daydreamer.  
Somehow, he never really got along with his peers. He got used to it.

Now, this girl, who must be his age, wants to talk to him, and he already feels like he will mess this up.  
But actually, he already feels better after the few words they shared.  
The panic is more in the background now, a heavy but softer thumbing somewhere in his heart.  
A bit distraction seems to help, so he nods carefully.

The girl smiles.  
“I’m Jemma, by the way,” she says. “Jemma Simmons.”  
She offers him her hand.

Fitz wipes his sweaty hand on his trousers with a nervous cough and shakes it.  
“I’m Leo Fitz. But I prefer to be called Fitz,” he says.

“Okay. Call me Simmons, then it fits better,” she says grinning. Then she asks curiously, “From where are you and where are you going?”

“I’m from Scotland. I’m flying to the US because I will attend the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Science and Technology.” He shrugs embarrassedly, while feeling a bit proud at least.

Simmons’ eyes widen. She gasps.  
“Wait, really? Me too!”

Fitz’s mouth falls open in surprise. Before he can say something else, Simmons already continues talking, now clearly excited. She’s shifting on her seat restlessly.

“So you have a PhD? I have two. I will do biochemistry. What are you going to do?”

“Engineering,” Fitz says, a bit overwhelmed by her questions.

Simmons beams.  
“That’s so cool!”

“You think so?” Fitz asks, astonished, asking himself if Simmons might actually listen to his ramblings without being bored, confused, distracted or straight out annoyed at some point.

Soon, they are absorbed in a discussion about their studies, Shield’s backstory and their exceptions for the future.

They talk for a long time and it feels strangely natural to Fitz.  
He doesn’t remember anyone else he could talk to this way. 

And then, suddenly, Simmons says, “We’re there. We’re landing now.”

“What?” Fitz asks, surprised. “Already?”

Simmons smiles.  
“You just survived your first flight,” she jokes. “Congrats.”

Fitz nods, startling a bit, as the plane starts to go into a curve, now evenly sinking down.  
“Do we stay together?” He asks Simmons a bit uncertainly.

“Sure! We have the same way, don’t we?” She says.

Fitz beams.

 

It wasn’t such a bad idea, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not a native speaker and always grateful for being corrected! I'm constantly trying to improve my English, so please don't hesitate to tell me about mistakes. <3
> 
> Visit me on tumblr: [ready-to-kick-some-ass](https://ready-to-kick-some-ass.tumblr.com/) :)


End file.
